Disposable antislipping foot cover

ABSTRACT

This FOOT COVER to be used for the average skilled tradesman who performs work on roofs having sloped areas and or any professional who must access roof top areas as part of their everyday profession. Because it is designed of a combination of rubber having different durity and shock absorbing characteristic making it an everyday shoe; FOOT COVER has a wearsole that contains a hardening agent, which increases wearsole life expectancy. FOOT COVER is constructed of a synergistic blend such as but not limited to rubber, foam, plastic and fabric. Said wearsole upper being artesian innersole, but not limited to a two piece design having an outer, upper, inner, wearsole and elastic suitable for use on sloped areas, typical bottom having an elongated portion having protrusion and or indents or neither creating a gripping surface suitable for grasping said sloped areas of roof.

PRIOR ART AND BACKGROUND Background and Brief Summary of Invention Fieldof the Invention and Specifications

The footwear is designed for roof professionals and daily artisans whowork on and or must access roofs having sloped areas. This inventionadapts to the need for added safety and having grip to the roofingmaterials encountered on roofs. The design of the safety FOOT COVERallows the intended user to wear a lightweight type tennis shoe “safetyshoe” with an integral flexible sole with gripping capabilities tomaterials utilized in rooftop areas.

There have been many inventions in past years using similar apparatusand materials, trying to improve the necessity for accessing roofs withincline and sloped areas. Using ropes or straps to secure a worker to aroof, does not protect a worker from the initial slip and fall. In thiscase an injury may have already occurred through the actions of a slipor fall on a roof surface before a worker falls from the structure. Mostrooftop workers do not tie off with the use of harnesses and or safetybelts unless the requirement is enforced by the job superintendent orOSHA officials who sometimes visit job sites periodically as part ofsurprise visit to enforce possible jobsite violations for hefty fees. Asa result, many injuries may happen when least expected or in the eventof a fall from the roof area. The following are US Patents researchedand noted for reference:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,252-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,334-   U.S. Pat. No. 2,628,437-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,125-   U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,608-   U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,252

My invention has overcome the problems associated with prior antislipdevices such as but not limited to prior art boots and shoes. Said priorart can be neither worn for everyday use nor worn through mud or water,snow or grass.

There are many factors to consider when assessing the need of workerswho work on sloped areas of rooftops for a living. Primarily in thesoutheastern states including Florida, most of the crews that performwork on roofs everyday, tend to wear some type of tennis shoe with arubber sole. Most of these workers are on a fixed income and cannotafford expensive shoes and or boots. Most workers do not wear boots asthey are to cumbersome and the heat factor of wearing boots brings thefatigue level to high to manage in the hot weather.

My invention overcomes these issues when compared to other safety shoesand or boots currently on the market. My invention allows workers topurchase these safety shoes at a reasonable cost both, for comfort andsafety for everyday use on rooftop areas. The footwear is lightweightand upper wearsole made of a breathable fabric thus allowing positiveairflow through the safety shoe.

The innersole is made of memory foam; which creates a comfortable shoeand at the same time added safety when negotiating steep and sloped rooftop areas with the integral high density foam sole. Since these safetyshoes are disposable when the unitary base wears down to the rubber soleof the footwear, they are disposed and a new pair of footwear ispurchased. Since the footwear is purchased at a reasonable andaffordable price, the average worker or artisan can always have an extrapair on hand.

As noted in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,125 above, asphalt roof shingles areused extensively in roof construction in the South. The roof shinglesare manufactured with grades of stone gravel embedded in a flexible,petroleum-based, sheet material. Shingle scarring by the roofer is acommon problem not to damage the shingles, by causing a large amount ofthe embedded gravel to be scraped off, during installation andthereafter in completing construction of the roof. In hot climates, thesurface of the shingles may become easily scarred or damaged where aworker has moved around on any roof area. This occurs primarily becausethe shoes of the worker do not adequately adhere to the surface of theshingle to prevent the gripping. As the worker shoe disengages acrossthe shingle, the surface of the shingle becomes scarred or damaged.

It is apparent that there is a need for a safety device designed toprovide the roof artesian with the required gripping capability toprevent and reduce the loose friction resulting from installation ofasphalt shingles on steep slopes or pitched areas. In addition theamount of heat transfer through the work surface IE; asphalt shinglestransferred to the foot of the roof artesian working on the roof area.Temperatures in the South get up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit when using ablack asphalt shingle and likewise 150 degrees Fahrenheit when using awhite asphalt shingle in the summer months. Thus; the need for myinvention utilizing the memory foam innersole and the breathable uppersole to minimize the heat factor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 Represents a side view of the safety footwear embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 Represents a cut through section of the footwear embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 2 Represents a top view of the safety footwear embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 Represents a bottom view of the safety footwear embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 Represents a rear view of the safety footwear embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION AND SPECIFICATIONS

Referring to drawings [1-4], FIG. 1 shows a present embodiment of thesafety shoe. The shoe has an upper wearsole 10 secured to a flexiblelower wearsole 14 to create the section of shoe around the artisan'sfoot. The safety shoe Is manufactured as a standard tennis shoe and orathletic with a rubber sole 14. The rubber sole 14 is made of sufficientthickness approximately ½″ to ⅝″ which is then molded or infused withthe bottom sole 16 which is high density foam and rubber combinationhaving a density in the range of about 3.5 to around 25 pounds per cubicfoot to further bond the two materials and making it an integral part ofthe shoe. It is further noted that the bottom sole 16 is integrated withthe rubber sole 14 making this one piece utilizing the heat adhesivebonding process 20 in the factory. The closed cell high density unionsof the foam material are important properties to further provide theantislip attributes for the bottom sole 16 for added durability and longwear. The thickness of the bottom sole is approximately ½″ to ⅝″ andtotal thickness of bottom sole 16 and under wearsole 14 is approximately1″ thickness overall. These 2 materials as built together will hold upto various other materials which workers encounter on job sites IE;concrete walks/driveways, asphalt roads, grassy areas, ladders andscaffolding.

It is then joined together with the upper wearsole 10 adhering thefabric upper to the rubber sole as the standard process of manufacturingof tennis shoe and or athletic shoes. The fabric is combined with themesh areas 12 for breathable safety shoes.

Referring to drawings [1-4], FIG. 2 shows a present embodiment of thesafety shoe. The footwear as shown is a lightweight safety shoeintegrated together with a bottom sole made of high density foam andrubber combination. The upper wearsole 10 is infused to the bottom sole14 and 16 and is made from a breathable fabric with mesh inserts 12 asdepicted in drawing. The innersole of the shoe has memory foam insert 30thus creating an insulator between the mid sole and bottom sole 16 tofurther insulate the workers foot from the heat exchange from the roofsurface. The elastic cord loop 24, when pulled through the eyelets ofupper wearsole being of substantial diameter to allow an applied forcegreater than the weight of safety shoe to be applied thus one method ofconnecting to artesian.

Referring to drawings [1-4], FIG. 3 shows a present embodiment of thesafety shoe. The footwear as shown is the bottom sole 16 integrated tothe rubber sole 14 detailing the prismatic element of the high densityfoam and rubber combination with the irregular texture of the foamsurface. It is further noted that the safety footwear is primarily flatbottom with little rise to the front and rear of shoe; therefore forcingmore contact area by friction across the elongated portion of shoecreating a gripping surface suitable for grasping steep and sloped areasof roofs. This material is suitable for all the various layers ofmaterials workers come in contact with on roof areas; IE, plywood, OSB,tar paper, synthetic roofing material, asphalt shingles, valley metal orlike.

Referring to drawings [1-4], FIG. 4 shows a present embodiment of thesafety shoe. The footwear as shown is the rear view of the shoe. Theheel is an injected molded mid sole 14 with a bottom sole 16 which isintegrated as one. The upper wearsole 10 is comprised of a breathablefabric with inserts of net area allowing the shoe to breathe.

PRIOR ART AND BACKGROUND Summary of Invention

1. FOOT COVER—Wherein the sole or heel or both of a boot or shoe aremodified or an attachment is secured thereto to prevent slipping; andclass/subclass 7.6 Overshoes provided with antislipping means.

2. FOOT COVER Is made of such as but not limited to a two piece designhaving an outer, upper, inner, wearsole and elastic material.

3. FOOT COVER is constructed of a synergistic blend such as but notlimited to rubber, plastic, foam, synthetic and fabric materials.

4. FOOT COVER is used as safety footwear with a flexible sole having anelongated portion creating a gripping surface suitable for grasping saidsloped areas.

5. FOOT COVER is a light weight safety footwear consisting of unitarybase not limited to a 2 piece design injected molded, adhering the upperand outer wearsole together.

6. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the upper wearsole is constructed ofa form of fabric, which contains at least one elastic cord, said elasticcord is a closed loop having a pinch type friction stop that allowsplurality of lengths.

7. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the outer wearsole is primarily of airregular flat surface with little rise in the front and rear offootwear.

8. A FOOT COVER of claim 5, wherein the outer wearsole unitary base isfabricated from foam, foam rubber, and rubber.

9. A FOOT COVER of claim 5, wherein the outer wearsole unitary base ismanufactured of a combination of open cell foam and rubber.

10. A FOOT COVER of claim 5, wherein the outer wearsole unitary base ismanufactured of a combination of closed cell foam and rubber.

11. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the outer wearsole is fabricated inthe general shape of a rectangle.

12. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the outer wearsole is fabricated inthe general shape of a oval.

13. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the outer wearsole is fabricated inthe general shape of a sole of a shoe.

14. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the upper wearsole is constructedof rubber with an innersole.

1. FOOT COVER—Wherein the sole or heel or both of a boot or shoe aremodified or an attachment is secured thereto to prevent slipping; andclass/subclass 7.6 Overshoes provided with antislipping means. Footwearto be used as an added safety measure for accessing sloped areas onroofs.
 2. FOOT COVER Is made of such as but not limited to a two piecedesign having an outer, upper, inner, wearsole and elastic material.Footwear having an upper portion made from fabric to substantially coverthe foot of the artisan and an innersole made from memory foam forcomfort and to reduce fatigue. Wherein the upper wearsole is constructedof a form of fabric manufactured with eyelets and shoelaces, whichcontains at least one elastic cord, said elastic cord is a closed loophaving a pinch type friction stop that allows plurality of lengths. 3.FOOT COVER is constructed of a synergistic blend such as but not limitedto rubber, plastic, foam, synthetic and fabric materials.
 4. FOOT COVERis used as safety footwear with a flexible sole having an elongatedportion creating a gripping surface suitable for grasping said slopedareas. Unitary base not limited to a 2 piece design injected molded,adhering the upper and outer wearsole together.
 5. A FOOT COVER of claim2, wherein the outer wearsole is primarily of a irregular flat surfacewith little rise in the front and rear of footwear.
 6. A FOOT COVER ofclaim 5, wherein the outer wearsole unitary base is fabricated fromfoam, high density foam rubber, and rubber.
 7. A FOOT COVER of claim 5,wherein the outer wearsole unitary base is manufactured of a combinationof high density open cell foam and rubber.
 10. A FOOT COVER of claim 5,wherein the outer wearsole unitary base is manufactured of a combinationof high density closed cell foam and rubber.
 11. A FOOT COVER of claim2, wherein the outer wearsole is fabricated in the general shape of arectangle.
 12. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the outer wearsole isfabricated in the general shape of a oval.
 13. A FOOT COVER of claim 2,wherein the outer wearsole is fabricated in the general shape of a soleof a shoe.
 14. A FOOT COVER of claim 2, wherein the inner wearsole isconstructed of memory foam for comfort and reduce fatigue.
 15. A FOOTCOVER of claim 2, safety footwear is comprised of a lightweight tennisshoe design manufactured with an integral sole pad made from acombination of rubber, high density open and closed cell foam, used togrip asphalt surfaces when using on sloped areas of roofs.
 16. Saidinvention of FOOT COVER of claim 2, is used as a safety device built forcomfort and lightweight design to be distributed as a disposablefootwear when the bottom sole of comprised rubber and high density openand closed foam sole wears down to the rubber section of outer wearsole.